Immediately after the magnitude of the devastation wrought by typhoon Pablo came to light, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., ordered his staff to launch a mission to help the victims in the affected areas.

With initial relief efforts pouring towards New Bataan in Compostela Valley, Sen. Marcos’ staff decided to focus their relief mission from Dec. 9-16 in areas where no help had so far arrived that time, particularly in the municipalities of Cateel, Davao Oriental; Compostela, Compostela Valley; Hinatuan, Cagayan del Sur; and Valencia City in Bukidnon.

With the help of local officials, borrowing trucks and cars to load the relief goods, and traversing difficult terrain, the group successfully reached their target areas in Regions 10, 11, and CARAGA and distributed a total of 9,042 packs of relief goods, consisting of rice, canned goods, noodles, and coffee.

The members of the relief mission were one in saying that all the hardships they endured—hours of travel in muddy, rock-strewn and treacherous roads, sleeping in cars or any available lodging house, bouts with fatigue—disappeared when they saw the joy in the faces of the victims as their hands reach out to receive the first help they had since the typhoon that demolished practically their entire community.